Wind power is considered one of the cleanest, most environmentally friendly energy sources presently available, and wind turbines have gained increased attention in this regard. A modern wind turbine typically includes a tower, generator, gearbox, nacelle, and a rotor including one or more rotor blades. The rotor blades capture kinetic energy from wind using known foil principles and transmit the kinetic energy through rotational energy to turn a shaft coupling the rotor blades to a gearbox, or if a gearbox is not used, directly to the generator. The generator then converts the mechanical energy to electrical energy that may be deployed to a utility grid.
During assembly, operation and maintenance of a wind turbine, various wind turbine components may require moving within the wind turbine. For example, relatively heavy components may in some cases need to be moved into the tower of the wind turbine, from the yaw deck into the nacelle, and to various locations within the nacelle.
Known apparatus for moving such components into and within a wind turbine can be bulky, dangerous, and expensive. Further, such known apparatus are generally not versatile, and rather for example are designed for moving heavy components only from one single location to another single location. Currently known nacelle cranes are an example of such apparatus. Further, known apparatus typically require two to three workers for suitable operation, thus increasing both the expense and the risk of accidents during operation.
Accordingly, improved apparatus for moving relatively heavy components into and within wind turbines are desired. In particular, portable cranes which are lightweight, inexpensive, and have high load capacities would be advantageous.